In 1991, Barney Frank received an official reprimand for reflecting "discredit upon the House." The reprimand came as a result of his relationship with a man named Steve Gobi, a male prostitute whom Frank initially paid $80 for sex. Frank later took Gobi to live with him in his home, making him a personal aide. He paid him $20,000 in compensation (unreported to the IRS) and let him use his car. Subsequent investigation revealed that in the course of their relationship, Frank used his congressional office and stationary to fix Gobi's 33 parking fines. Frank also used his congressional letterhead...

Mr. Frank's attitude seems to be that Americans need to justify why they should keep the money they inherit instead of the government needing to justify why they should be allowed to confiscate it. Video at link.

Former President Jimmy Carter came out forthrightly in favor of an openly gay person as president of the United States. “We’re breaking down the barriers that have been in place for hundreds of years,” Carter asserted. “President Obama is our first openly Black president. President Clinton was our first proven fornicating president. I think it’s about time that we have our first openly homosexual president.” Carter dismissed rumors that several former presidents may have been secretly gay as irrelevant. “I know there are those who say Lincoln may have been gay,” Carter admitted. “And Buchanan, a lifelong bachelor, certainly had...

<p>In a crowded gym during practice in front of parents and coaches, the Buchanan High School wrestler tackled a teammate and executed a move his coaches taught him.</p>
<p>He inserted his fingers between the boy's buttocks.</p>
<p>It's called the "butt drag," in which a wrestler grabs a rival's butt cheek and puts fingers in the anus to get leverage. The move is widely used at matches around the country and has been around for decades.</p>

"Summary of Support Terry Lakin Day: Rep. Trent Frank Staff; efforts already underway at their DC office to "try to stop the court-martial.10:30 - 11:45 AM - McCain 30 Supporters gathered at John McCain's office on 16th Street in Phoenix. Except for a group of about six that entered the office for about a 10 minute period, all marched and held signs (some photos attached) and American flags on both sides of the street for the entire time. Many drivers honked in agreement as they drove by. The group that entered the office were greeted by McCain staffer Barb Donaldson,...

Barney Frank: Homeowners Shouldn’t Have ‘False Hopes’November 18, 2010, 12:00 PM ET By Alan Zibel Associated Press Rep. Barney Frank U.S. homeowners who have missed mortgage payments shouldn’t have “false hopes” that they can challenge foreclosures due to paperwork flaws, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Thursday. Frank, the outgoing chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said at a subcommittee hearing that banks should be doing “everything possible to straighten out that paperwork problem.” But, he added that, consumers should not “get false hopes that this is going to lead to a substantial number of foreclosures being permanently forgotten.” Several...

'Inside Job" bills itself as "the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis." It exposes whoremongering Wall Street traders, economic consultants who lie on their resumes and Hank Paulson's conflicts. But it doesn't answer what caused the crisis. Of course, it thinks it does. "This is how it happened," the film confidently tells viewers before taking them, oddly enough, all the way back to the 1980s. Why then? Because the Reagan administration — "supported by economists and financial lobbyists" — started a 30-year regulatory vacation that fomented unparalleled "greed and immorality" on Wall Street. "Progressive deregulation...

For many years, I’ve been a fan of Warren Buffett’s long term approach to value investing. Understanding the value of a company, regardless of its momentary stock price, is a great long term investing strategy. But it pains me whenever I read commentary from Buffett that glosses over reality or is somehow self-serving. His OpEd in the NYT today – Pretty Good for Government Work – paints an artificially rosy picture of the Bailout, ignores the negatives, and omits his own financial interest in government actions. What might he have written if Sir Warren was dosed with some sodium pentothal...

Did turnout push the Massachusetts elections back towards the Democrats? In the wake of statewide defeat last Tuesday, Republicans in the Bay State are trying to figure out what went wrong. The blizzard of emails amongst the Republican volunteers following an election in which Massachusetts voters rejected a slate of admirable Republican candidates is a sign that the volunteers will not need to conduct a postmortem — that is, a review following death. The Massachusetts GOP, the Massachusetts Tea Party movement, and the independent, conservative portion of the citizenry are not dead. Manifestly, their governing principle is the recognition that...

The GOP takeover of the House holds the nightmare scenario for Democrats of putting Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) in charge of the House Oversight Committee. Issa spent the last two years attempting to get subpoena power for a range of inquiries into activities in the Obama administration, including the firing of Inspector General Gerald Walpin, and to get a much closer look at the Friends of Angelo program at Countrywide Mortgage that appeared to offer sweetheart loan packages to leading Democrats in position to help Angelo Mozilo with regulators and legislation. Issa told Chris Wallace that the latter scandal would...

On Nov. 29, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., will face a House ethics trial for the role she allegedly played in helping a minority-owned bank called OneUnited—a bank in which her husband owned a sizable stake and on whose board he'd once sat—get $12 million in the 2008 bank bailout. Had OneUnited failed, the ethics committee that brought the charges alleges, Waters' husband's "financial interest in OneUnited would have been worthless." The ethics committee alleges that Waters' chief of staff and grandson, Mikael Moore, was "actively involved" in helping OneUnited and that Waters' "failure to instruct [him] to refrain from assisting"...

Barney Frank — a fading Capitol Hill power broker — will return to Washington stripped of his committee clout and wearing a target on his back as top Republicans vow to probe mortgage giants bailed out by taxpayers on the Newton Democrat’s watch. “I think there’s a responsibility to get down to the errors in judgment which helped create the current financial crisis,” said U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican set to become a leader on the powerful Financial Services Committee chaired by Frank. “The fact that Congress was repeatedly warned by the regulators . . . requires vigorous...

Two Republican lawmakers are battling to lead the powerful House Financial Services Committee in the next Congress. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the panel's ranking member, and Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) are competing for the chairmanship of the committee that oversees bank regulators and Wall Street. (Snip) The chairmanship of the Financial Services panel is a plum prize for lawmakers, given its enormous sway over the financial sector. The committee has more than 70 members and is now led by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who helped push a sweeping reform of Wall Street through Congress.

Born and raised in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I know a little something about corrupt politicians. Particularly, growing up in the district of arguably one of the country’s most notorious, John Murtha, I was always astounded by the fact that he kept being re-elected time and time again. Even after numerous stories like those of the ABSCAM fiasco of the 1980s, the abhorrent comments he made about the Marines in Fallujah, and the pork-laden, federally subsidized Johnstown airport that bares Murtha’s name, the people of Pennsylvania’s 12th District continued to pull the lever for Murtha. Even after his death,...

US Representative Barney Frank, the powerful House committee chairman and influential Democrat, easily won re-election today after holding off a challenge from Republican Sean Bielat. After a scare, Frank surged to victory, winning 61 percent of the vote to Bielat's 36 percent, with 62 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.

Republican Charles Baker's campaign to spur Governor Deval Patrick (D) from office might have reason to celebrate before the polls close at eight o'clock (get out there and vote, if you have not already). Incumbent Barney Frank may suffer if the Republican voters also turn out just like earlier this year in the Scott Brown election. Brown received 53% in all of Massachusetts and took the 4th Congressional District. If Sean Bielat can turn out a significant number of voters, he may be the next Congressman from that district.

Fighting for his political life, a frustrated U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said he was “disappointed” in Sean Bielat’s campaign, saying the surging newcomer has succumbed to the usual right-wing tactics. “I’m disappointed in the campaign,” Frank said while greeting voters in Sharon. “He’s talked very little about the issues and has been a vehicle for an angry right wing.”

Interesting story here... CourtHouseNews (via Denninger): A La Jolla man can keep his home for now, after a federal judge granted his motion for a temporary restraining order blocking Washington Mutual and JP Morgan from foreclosing on his house because the banks misled him into defaulting on his mortgage. Kaveh Khast claimed the banks instructed him to stop making his mortgage payments so he could qualify for a loan modification. A Washington Mutual representative confirmed receipt of the documents, but did not contact Khast within two months as promised. After learning JP Morgan Chase had acquired Washington Mutual, Khast contacted...